Already running low on things to watch as you continue social distancing? Don’t worry, we’re here to help!
As we work on making permanent indents on our couches as we stay inside, we’re turning to TV shows and movies to help distract and entertain us.
Each week, we’re recommending our top binge-watching picks based on any mood you’re in, feeling you might be having or upcoming Zoom hangout you have scheduled. Our offerings for March 28-29 include a few nostalgic picks that will no longer be available come April (How rude!) and a current TV show that is providing us with some unexpected-but-much-appreciated comfort.
And, of course, we’re making the new true crime doc-series everyone has been buzzing about mandatory viewing this weekend, especially if you want to be part of the online discourse about its wild characters and events. Plus, a reality show you should catch up on ASAP is another one of our other streaming suggestions.
If You Want to Be Part of Any Zoom Happy Hour You Have in the Foreseeable Future: C’mon, it’s got to be Tiger King, which everyone—Chrissy Teigen, your BFF and her annoying boyfriend, your mailman, your cat (probably)—is purring about. And hey all you cool cats and kittens, if you are looking for a distraction and a polygamist fame-hungry exotic zookeeper named Joe Exotic, a cat-lover who possibly fed her cheating husband to tigers, a botched murder-for-hire plot and a possible cult that recruits people through their love of exotic animals don’t do it for ya, well…that’s on you. (Where to Watch: Netflix)
If You Miss Weekly Paparazzi Shots of the Olsen Twins: This is a very specific but very real problem very specific sub-set of millennials, and we have good news and bad news. Let’s start with the bad: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen‘s final movie together New York Minute is leaving Netflix in April, so get in one last viewing now. (Where to Watch: Netflix)
The good news? Their underrated 1995 gem It Takes Two is still available to watch to give you that can’t eat, can’t sleep, reach for the stars over the fence kind of feeling you need this weekend. (Where to Watch: Hulu)
If You Want to Have Something to Fill the Awkward Silence While Skyping With Your Uncle: The third season of Ozark dropped on Friday, so feel free to binge-watch that if you need a break from bringing up Billions or Ray Donovan and/or another reason to avoid talk of politics during your weekly check-in with your dad! (Where to Watch: Netflix)
If You Want Comfort Food Without the Mindless Calories: May we offer up the current season of Top Chef, which has brought together some of the series’ best chefs who’ve never won and is also serving as a glorious love letter to the Los Angeles food scene? Much like the current season of Survivor, it’s soothing to see familiar faces back on TV, almost as if these longrunning reality TV juggernauts knew we’d need them.
Even if you’ve never watched the show (though we highly recommend the epic Battle of the Voltaggio Brothers in season six, which is also available on Hulu with all of the other seasons), there’s something cathartic about seeing passionate people be passionate about food and passionate about the experience of sharing a meal together, a sentiment with even more added emotion during this pandemic. (Where to Watch: Right here)
If You Are Looking to Satisfy Your Superhero Fix With a Twist: One of the last movies we saw in a theater (sigh, we even miss those squeaky seats and the smell of stale popcorn right now!) was February’s Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey and we highly recommend it if you are looking for a new movie to watch, as it hit VOD this week.
Margot Robbie is back in action (and truly more badass and batty than ever) as Harley Quinn, with a stacked cast (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosie Perez, Jurnee Smollett, Chris Messina and a scenery-chewing Ewan McGregor) joining her for the manic mayhem. It’s a party for your sense without ever having to leave your couch. (Where to Watch: iTunes, Amazon, Apple or wherever you buy movies for $20)
If You Want to Catch Up With the Bellas Before They’re Back: Before twins Nikki and Brie Bella return for a sure-to-be fifth season on April 2 which includes both WWE stars finding out they are expecting and are due a week and a half apart (You can’t make this stuff up, can you?), catch up on all of their sisterly shenanigans this weekend. (Where to Watch: Right here)
If You Need a Good Rom-Com Fix or Four: We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but some of the best rom-coms are leaving their streaming service home on April 1, so we recommend carving out some time this weekend for a date with the Bridget Jones trilogy and Julia Roberts in My Best Friend’s Wedding (Justice for Kimberly!) as all four are heading off to live happily ever after…just not on Hulu. (Where to Watch: Hulu)
(E! is part of the NBCUniversal family)